51 things kids should do before they turn 12

Getting out and being active will help save our kids from a lifetime of obesity. But how do you prise them away from their favourite video game? Neil Keene reveals 51 simple – and fun – things kids can do in the great outdoors.

Countdown to action

Today’s little treasures can be tomorrow’s big couch potatoes unless parents make a point of keeping their children active – and the sooner the kids get moving, the better. Latest data reveals that more than one in five NSW school children is either overweight or obese, while 30 percent have a body mass index score outside the healthy range.

NSW Health says the early development and mastery of “fundamental movement skills” is vital to both future participation in physical activity and a lifelong commitment to a healthy and active lifestyle. Yet a 2010 survey of more than 8000 NSW school students found that primary school kids spent an average of 3–3.5 hours a day during the week on “sedentary behaviours”, jumping to 4–6 hours on weekends.

For high school students it was 5.5–6.5 hours a day during the week and 5.5–9 hours on weekends. Most of that time was spent on small-screen recreation – watching TV and using electronic devices.

Get out there

It’s a worrying trend, considering government guidelines released last year recommended a maximum of only two hours of electronic media entertainment a day. With that in mind, health experts have released a list of 51 things every child should do before he or she turns 12 – each pursuit encouraging physical activity and time spent outdoors.

Nature Play – the non-profit group behind the list – says that the activities listed were once a part of almost every child’s upbringing, celebrating physical activity, adventure and imagination.

But spokesman Griffin Longley says that children today are increasingly unable to relate to such experiences. “Australian children are spending less than two hours a day outside on average – that’s less than our maximum security prisoners,” he says. “The whole mission is to try to get kids mucking around outdoors – the way they have every other generation.”

NSW Health Office of Preventive Health Director, Professor Chris Rissel, says that while it’s good for parents to organise activities for their kids, unstructured play is equally important.

“We can over-structure children’s lives and it can create a stress and anxiety that doesn’t allow kids to enjoy an experience and take it further,” he says. “There’s almost a need for children to be bored at some point because it’s from the boredom that ideas are generated.”

Here are 51 things every kid should do before they turn 12. They’ll get messy, wet and fit!